I don't know if I'm alone in this, but I've always thought Dr. Stephen Strange, so-called "sorceror supreme of the universe," was a pretty silly character. His ludicrous epithets aside, Strange cannot expect to be taken seriously in that outrageous disco-wizard outfit that he always -- and I do mean always -- seems to wear. I think he must have a set of "sorceror supreme" jammies, just in case demons invade his sanctum sanctorum during naptime.

So when I saw Witches: The Gathering, I thought it might be Marvel's attempt to humanize its magic-wielding community just a bit. The three witches -- and, of course, they're all babes -- at least seemed to dress in normal clothing, if nothing else.

But no. There's nothing subtle or "human" about these girls, one of whom even claims to be the daughter of Satan -- how else could she explain being named Satana? -- and another of whom is descended from the guy who locked a major magician-eating monster in a book of all knowledge, and whose brother has just opened it and unleashed the beast.

And you won't see any simple or garden-variety spells here, either. The girls throw up luminscent shields in an instant and shoot balls of fiery energy from their fingertips. Need I even say that, although the monster is more powerful than pretty much everyone else in the Marvel 'verse, these girls can take him down pretty easily -- once they get over those inevitable petty little differences and learn to work together in love and harmony.

Think equal parts Charmed and Charlie's Angels.

Oh, and Dr. Strange is pretty much a jerk the whole way through the book. At least the art is good, even though the first half doesn't match the second.